Hells Canyon 2015

[Glenn-BJ74]

Here is a trip report of a visit to the Hells Canyon National Recreational Area we did in September.
Hells Canyon is in NE Oregon and eastern Idaho within which flows the Snake River a tributary of the Columbia River. The headwaters of the Snake originates in western Wyoming.

On my way down Hwy 97 to Othello, WA to meet Eric I stopped just south of Sun Lakes Dry Falls park and took this picture of the terrain along the Grande Coulee.

Meeting in central Washington State (WA) in Othello, we completed our last minute shopping and headed to Palouse Falls for our the first night under a warm red sky.

The last shot was taken by Eric.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

Next day we headed southeast for Clarkston, WA.
Along the way stopped a few times and at a little town called Starbuck and checked out the abandoned jailhouse.
There we were met by a skinny old grizzled local who was the town's self-appointed tour guide and the local historical incarceration expert.
The old jailhouse is located right beside the road and one of its walls served as the town's billboard for passers' by

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

I need to take my dogs for a walk. More to come when I can find time.

 

[Fantom]

Looking great so far. I got to meet Eric when I was on the Island, wheeling with Rob. Great guy, great photographer. Looking forward to seeing more pics of this.

 

[bj70_guy]

head to head battle of the shiny 81s!
Great to see my pal Eric getting some use out of that truck. Saucy Capri pants Eric!

I spent a bit of time in that area this summer on a motorcycle trip. It was 40C… great roads though.

Looking forward to the rest of the trip report.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

We arrived at Clarkston, WA and picked up a few last minute essentials, including 3 pints of ice cream, diesel and headed south on Hwy 209 to find the Snake River. The route was to follow paved and gravel roads as far as possible along the Snake River River, then head inland. Winding our way along the Oregon side of the Snake River we saw numerous beautiful white sandy beaches nestled along the jagged rocky cliffs and V/8 powered jet boats powering up the river. Although the River's flow rates were fairly low, these videos give you an idea of what we saw...




We crossed the Grande Ronde River, a tributary of the Snake River and headed up the Joseph Creek drainage to the Horse Creek Rd following the Cold Spring Ridge, which runs along the western edge of Hell's Canyon, North America's deepest Gorge.
The trouble with exploring the Canyon most of the area is inaccessible by road. We continued taking little used US Forest Service roads into the Wallowa-Whitmasn National Forest. National Forest land is national public land where dispersed camping is permitted.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

Weaving our along the ridge we stopped at Buckhorn Overlook (5,300 ft), but could not see the river. By then it was getting late in the day, but anywhere near the lookout was was too windy to camp. We explored a little ... but we were forced to hunker down in a rocky cow pasture on the lee side of the ridge. Next day we continued a long way down the ridge roads to connect to Imnaha, the easternmost settlement in the state of Oregon. There we stopped at the Imnaha restaurant and I had coffee for $0.50 and took in the sights.

Here was the junction to the Dug Bar Road, to the Dug Bar Ranch camp on the Snake River our next obscure destination, which was scenic, twisty 4 hours north along the Imnaha River Valley.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

Although, the Imnaha Valley is several miles west of Hells Canyon it is defiantly a worthwhile side trip. The terrain is very different, with many small farms scattered along the river, which can be seen below from the slow twisty road.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

More of the Imnaha Valley...

 

[Helomech]

Wow, looks like some beautiful country to travel through. Thanks for sharing the photos with us Glenn! Makes me want to jump in the truck and get off the pavement.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

Dogs for a walk- back soon.

 

[Greg_B]

Thanks for posting up Glenn...looks like a great trip.
gb

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

More sights along the way to the Snake River at Dug Bar - 2 night camp. Dug Bar is at the top of the Hells Canyon Recreational Area.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

View from our camp at sunset and Eric's rig on the distant ridge on the way back out

 

[Rugy]

Great trip and great photos.

 

[Scalp]

Outstanding photos from a great trip!

 

[Fantom]

Funny how similar Churn Creek is to that landscape considering the distances they are apart.
Any chance Eric will post up some pics as well?

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

We headed back to Imnaha from Dug Bar ( one way in and out) and took another steep side trip to Hat Point up on the plateau cut by the Imnaha River. From Hat Point you can see the Snake River in the hazy distance below over a mile below

The other shots are of the Imnaha Valley and the other valley bench cut by the Imnaha River.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

At this point, Eric's fuel light was on! (he did not tank up at last fuel in Clarkston). We had to make a decision to backtrack, since none was available at Imnaha or the back road we was were going to take. We headed west 1 hour to the nice little town of Joseph for fuel and Internet. Eric had to check on his business back in Victoria. After getting fueled up the plan was to head back to Hells Canyon, but one of Eric's customers was upset his job was not started - a tough decision was made that Eric had to get back ASAP. After a quick goodbye, Eric made a beeline back to the Anacortes/Sidney Ferry for 8:00 am sailing next day.
It was about 4:30 pm so I decided go back to the funky cafe we were hanging at and ordered the big house burger with extra trimmings and after a satisfying dinner headed back to National Forest and Hells Canyon with the warm sun glowing behind me.

The shot of the map from Joseph shows where I was headed (Hwy 350, then Hwy 39). Along the way there was an 'open range'.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

The next day I was looking for a way off the boring pavement, and decided to cut straight down the canyon taking the Hess Road, which dropped
me down the west side of Hells Canyon. Along the river I found several great campsites devoid of campers, which I thought was usual since it was September and still very warn down in the Valley.